At least 20 killed, 134 people injured in blast at factory in Russia’s Ryazan region

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -The death toll from an unexplained blast last week at a factory in Russia’s Ryazan region has jumped to at least 20, with another 134 people injured, emergency services said on Monday.

Pavel Malkov, governor of the Ryazan region that lies just southeast of Moscow, said last Friday that the incident had been triggered by a fire breaking out inside a workshop at the factory.

But it was unclear from Russian media reports what caused the fire or what the factory was producing. Official Russian sources gave no details beyond efforts to find and treat the injured. Some media reported that it was a explosives plant but Reuters was unable to immediately verify that information.

“As of August 18, 20 people died as a result of the emergency incident,” the local emergency service headquarters said in a post on Telegram.

“There are 134 injured, of whom 31 patients are in hospitals in Ryazan and Moscow, while 103 patients are undergoing outpatient treatment.”

Video footage released by the emergencies ministry showed parts of the plant completely destroyed, with rescuers working through giant piles of rubble with sniffer dogs.

In another video, psychologists were shown working with local residents to provide counselling.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Trevelyan)